Con: More recess time equals happier students, more productive learning

First-grade teacher Miriam Osowski sees the fidgets. She watches the eye rolls. Students get more stir-crazy as the morning wears on.

“These are 6-year-olds and when they go three hours (without a recess) it’s like fighting a battle,” Osowski said. “Why not give them a 15-minute break, and then they’ll be ready to come back in and be ready to learn.”

Each time Osowski sees attention spans wane, she questions the school district’s decision to reduce recess in elementary schools.

Last year her students had a 15-minute morning recess, plus a playground break at lunch. This year, Greeley-Evans School District 6 standardized the schedule at all elementary schools. The district said the new schedule builds in common planning periods for teachers, allowing them to share curriculum and achievement information.

The lunch hour includes 20 minutes for recess. Before the change, about half the district’s primary schools already incorporated all recess into the lunch break.

District officials say the time spent for “specials” — physical education, art and music — has increased this year, and in some schools doubled. Plus, they say, teachers are encouraged to incorporate exercises such as toe touches into their classroom curriculum.

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Osowski argues that in-class breaks are not an adequate replacement for recess. Plus, she used the 15-minute recess to give extra help to students who needed it.

“I know we’re under a crunch and we need to do direct instruction … but they’re forgetting these are children,” she said. “Research shows that kids do better when they get physical activity.”

Osowski said the district is now saying teachers can take recess breaks at their discretion as a way to minimize backlash over the new schedule. She said teachers weren’t told about that flexibility at the beginning of the school year.

Regardless, she said, a recess-on-the-fly approach isn’t practical.

“Kids need it to be predictable. It needs to be a set time every day,” she said. “…They know recess is at 10:20 (for example) and if I don’t get my work done I don’t get to go out.”

Jay Tapia, former assistant principal at John Evans Middle School in Greeley, said reducing recess is a “ridiculous move,” especially for children in third grade and below.

“Younger kids definitely need that movement,” Tapia said. “Adults can’t sit for an hour and not take a break, so I don’t know how they can expect that for kids.”

Besides being a physical outlet, Tapia said, recess helps children learn to make friendships and work through problems.

Tapia, who spent eight years as a teacher and administrator in District 6, is now assistant principal and athletic director at Windsor Middle School. He said this will likely be the last year his two sons, currently at McAuliffe Elementary, attend schools in District 6.

“My reason for them leaving is basically some of the changes (the district) is making without consulting parents,” he said.

Tapia said the 120 minutes now devoted to literacy each day comes at the expense of challenging more proficient readers. Parents looking for more rigorous instruction could end up sending their children to other districts, both Tapia and Osowski said.

The district’s recess cutback is an outgrowth of curriculum changes designed to bolster student achievement. Supporters of more recess argue that playground time translates to better academic performance.

Melissa Parker, professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Northern Colorado, said kids need breaks.

“In a workplace we have to get a 15-minute break every four hours and one at lunch,” she said. “And we’re not even giving kids that 15-minute break during the day. … I think short breaks are very beneficial for kids in their ability to maintain focus in the classroom.”

Parker cited research done by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education that says primary students should have at least one 20-minute recess each day.

The study notes that 16 percent of the nation’s children are overweight, and increasing numbers are developing cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes. The study cites national recommendations that state school-aged children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.

Osowski, a 13-year veteran in District 6, currently teaching first grade at Shawsheen Elementary, voiced her concerns at a recent school board meeting. She was accompanied by her daughter, Allison, a third-grader at Shawsheen. Osowski said third-graders at the school go from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without a recess break.

She wants 15-minute recess to be restored and scheduled opposite of “specials.” So third-graders, who have specials in the morning, would get a 15-minute break in the afternoon.

“When they come back in after having a break like that, they come back in and are ready to sit down and refocus and listen,” Osowski said. “If you don’t give them that break, they’ve tuned you out.”